Yahoo Finance Institutional owners may consider drastic measures as Qurate Retail, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:QRTE.A) recent US$88m drop adds to long-term losses
Key Insights
Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, Qurate Retail's stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions
51% of the business is held by the top 10 shareholders
Every investor in Qurate Retail, Inc. (NASDAQ:QRTE.A) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. With 69% stake, institutions possess the maximum shares in the company. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).
And institutional investors saw their holdings value drop by 10% last week. This set of investors may especially be concerned about the current loss, which adds to a one-year loss of 65% for shareholders. Institutions or "liquidity providers" control large sums of money and therefore, these types of investors usually have a lot of influence over stock price movements. Hence, if weakness in Qurate Retail's share price continues, institutional investors may feel compelled to sell the stock, which might not be ideal for individual investors.
Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Qurate Retail.
Check out our latest analysis for Qurate Retail
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Qurate Retail?
Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.
Qurate Retail already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Qurate Retail's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.
Since institutional investors own more than half the issued stock, the board will likely have to pay attention to their preferences. It looks like hedge funds own 6.8% of Qurate Retail shares. That catches my attention because hedge funds sometimes try to influence management, or bring about changes that will create near term value for shareholders. The company's largest shareholder is The Vanguard Group, Inc., with ownership of 9.5%. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 8.0% and 6.8%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.
We also observed that the top 10 shareholders account for more than half of the share register, with a few smaller shareholders to balance the interests of the larger ones to a certain extent.
Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. While there is some analyst coverage, the company is probably not widely covered. So it could gain more attention, down the track.
Insider Ownership Of Qurate Retail
The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.
I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.
Our most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of Qurate Retail, Inc.. Insiders have a US$87m stake in this US$817m business. We would say this shows alignment with shareholders, but it is worth noting that the company is still quite small; some insiders may have founded the business. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.
General Public Ownership
The general public-- including retail investors -- own 13% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.
Next Steps:
I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Qurate Retail (of which 1 is significant!) you should know about.
If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.
NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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